I think most people would like to think that their elite status with an airline or hotel group makes them special to that company in some way. After all, the travel brands thank their elite members for being among their best customers, so they’re the ones responsible for the narrative. However, once in a while we get a reality check…
In this post:
When basically everyone is a Marriott Bonvoy elite member
We’ve seen an increasing trend among Marriott Bonvoy properties, whereby they have a sign at the front desk indicating how many elite members are either checking in that day, or are staying at the hotel that night. The sign usually says something along the lines of “we are proud of welcoming our Bonvoy elite members,” and then lists the number of each elite tier that are staying there that night.
On the surface, that might sound like a nice way to make guests feel special. However, in reality I suspect the purpose is the opposite — it’s to remind guests that their status doesn’t make them that special.
In the past, I’ve shared some of the most extreme examples of hotels with inflated elite ranks, and here’s one of the most extreme ones I’ve ever seen. In the Marriott Bonvoy Elites Uncensored Facebook group, one member shares the sign showing the number of elite members at the Sheraton Taoyuan Hotel, in Taiwan. On Saturday, March 21, 2026, those numbers were as follows:
- There were eight Bonvoy Ambassador members checking in
- There were 41 Bonvoy Titanium members checking in
- There were 52 Bonvoy Platinum members checking in
- There were 29 Bonvoy Gold members checking in
Based on those numbers, you might think that this is the world’s biggest hotel, and it must have thousands of rooms. Nope, the hotel has 190 rooms. Just to do the math there:
- Guests in ~64% of rooms have Bonvoy Gold status or higher (130 of 190 rooms), and this doesn’t even include those with Bonvoy Silver status
- Guests in ~53% of rooms have Bonvoy Platinum status or higher (101 of 190 rooms)
Over half of guests having Platinum status or above should give us quite the reality check. For that matter, it’s fascinating how top-heavy elite ranks are, with there being 40% more Titanium members than Gold members. Nowadays the most “exclusive” Bonvoy elite tiers seem to be Ambassador, followed by Gold.
This elite inflation makes it hard to manage expectations
Suffice it to say that this number of elite members makes it really hard for hotels to manage expectations. Years ago when Delta devalued its SkyMiles program (we’re talking like 43 devaluations ago), the program sent members an email stating that “when everyone’s an elite flyer, no one is.”
The same principle applies here. While some elite perks are guaranteed, other perks are subject to availability, and ultimately you’re competing with a lot of other people. As a Platinum member, it’s reasonable to think that you should get a decent room upgrade. However, when over 50% of guests have that status, what can you really expect?
Similarly, how can you offer a decent club lounge experience when so many guests have access to the lounge? Not only does the lounge become a huge cost center, and not only does it cannibalize food & beverage spending, but it’s also hard to satisfy guests when you have so many people to take care of. No wonder so many hotels “temporarily closed” their club lounges during the pandemic, but they never reopened.
As you might expect, many hotel owners are frustrated by having to deliver on elite perks. I think some hotel owners are just greedy and want the upside of being part of Marriott without delivering on what’s promised. But I think any reasonable hotel owner would see the above and think “gosh, that’s a lot of people to give out perks to.”
The issue in part is that Marriott is centrally profiting off of swelling the elite ranks, while putting the onus on hotel owners to provide those perks. Go figure that some hotels then just stop providing some perks, and Marriott doesn’t do much to enforce its policies.
Of course the above is an extreme, and I imagine most hotels don’t have 50%+ of guests with Platinum status. However, it’s not that far off from what might be normal. For that matter, you wouldn’t expect an airport or a business hotel on a Saturday night to be that elite heavy. Instead, you’d expect these numbers at more aspirational properties, in places like Hawaii.
Why have Marriott’s elite ranks become so bloated?
The reality with Marriott Bonvoy is that elite tiers have become incredibly bloated in recent years. There’s not just one thing contributing to that, but rather it’s many things:
- Marriott Bonvoy lifetime Platinum status is really easy to earn, so Marriott has to consistently offer those benefits in perpetuity (or until elite benefits change)
- Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status is incredibly easy to earn with credit cards; there are even credit cards that give you Platinum status just for being a member
- We’ve seen engagement in hotel loyalty programs increase massively outside the United States in recent years, in particular in China and India, which has caused major inflation to elite ranks for properties in India, North Asia, Southeast Asia, etc.
- Unfortunately we’ve seen a lot of fraud and other tricks for earning Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status, and Marriott doesn’t seem to be too concerned about shutting these things down
Now, I think it’s important to recognize that this elite rank inflation isn’t all bad news. In the past, it took a lot of effort to have high tier status with a major hotel loyalty program. Nowadays you can earn it so much more easily.
While I’d argue the value of status has decreased, the ease with which you can earn it has increased. Status does still offer valuable perks, ranging from complimentary breakfast, to guaranteed late check-out (at non-resorts), and more.
You can no longer really think you’re special for having Platinum status, or expect to get suite upgrades with any regularity. But if you’re earning the status quite easily, then you’re probably still better off.
Bottom line
Over the years we’ve seen the number of elite members with the major hotel groups increase greatly. This is due to a combination of factors, from lifetime elite status, to hotel groups increasingly monetizing their loyalty programs.
The thing is, often we’re not aware of just how many people we’re competing with for “space available” perks. Hotels posting signs with the number of elite members is definitely one way to get a reality check…
What do you make of the elite rank inflation we’ve seen at Marriott Bonvoy? And what do you make of hotels posting signs with the number of elite members?
platinum is easy to get.... well that might be the case in US and China were you get it for "free" with your credit card. In europe it's just old skool so you do have to do the stays and use promotions like double nights to get there. 2026 promo is downgraded to 1 night PER BRAND only for an reason. This will make my life more difficult though. On the flip side I see...
platinum is easy to get.... well that might be the case in US and China were you get it for "free" with your credit card. In europe it's just old skool so you do have to do the stays and use promotions like double nights to get there. 2026 promo is downgraded to 1 night PER BRAND only for an reason. This will make my life more difficult though. On the flip side I see mostly good threatment when they see your based in europe. I say mostly because I also see an increse in hotels who follow the letter or try to get away with not offer the elite benefits at all.
Same for India, I don’t know why it was mentioned in the article. Yes a lot of property developments are targeted there but there is no fast route to any meaningful status there. There is silver with a Diners cobranded card and Gold with Amex Plat, nothing else. It is almost the same as Europe. The country is still entirely occupied by leisure travellers from third party sites
Samples of size one are the lowest form of conservation. And while your clickbait got me, fortunately you are not gonna make any money off me as I run both UBlock Origin as well as NoScript
Well, I guess we should all go out and buy UBlock Origin and NoScript.
The story doesn't match what the picture shows. The picture shows how many people at each level are staying at the hotel, but the story calls this the number 'checking in'. And the picture shows the number of elite status members but not the total number of guests at the hotel, it is not showing that 64% of guests have gold status or higher but that out of elite members: 64% have gold status or higher. That is not the same as 64% of total guests.
In 2017, the JW Marriott Essex House in New York City was averaging 70 platinums per night. That was before Bonvoy, when platinum was the highest published tier in the former Marriott Rewards program.
While platinum is easy to get, I am surprised by the ambassador number. Especially in Asia, where rates are lower on average than the USA. It's hard to spend US$23,000+ in Asia on hotels unless you are exclusively staying in Hong Kong and Singapore and Tokyo.
I struggle to see why anyone would strive for elite status in any hotel chain. If you want mediocrity then you can have it for much cheaper elsewhere and if you want something actually good you are not going to find it in a points chain.
Unless you live in the us you aren’t going to get hotel points through a a credit card; and even if you do there’s better places to put...
I struggle to see why anyone would strive for elite status in any hotel chain. If you want mediocrity then you can have it for much cheaper elsewhere and if you want something actually good you are not going to find it in a points chain.
Unless you live in the us you aren’t going to get hotel points through a a credit card; and even if you do there’s better places to put your spend.
Overpaying for free breakfast and some dried out canapés in the lounge always seems like a poor deal.
This is fascinating because I've seen the exact opposite. I mostly stay at Marriott properties in Southern Africa (mostly Protea Hotels) and over the last few years since Bonvoy stopped giving any elite credits on 1 night stays at Protea, the number of elites cratered massively. It reached the stage where my wife who is Silver was getting room upgrades as the only Bonvoy Elite on property (if the checkin signs are to be believed)....
This is fascinating because I've seen the exact opposite. I mostly stay at Marriott properties in Southern Africa (mostly Protea Hotels) and over the last few years since Bonvoy stopped giving any elite credits on 1 night stays at Protea, the number of elites cratered massively. It reached the stage where my wife who is Silver was getting room upgrades as the only Bonvoy Elite on property (if the checkin signs are to be believed). Then again, this was inevitable when those staying 50+ nights on single night stays wind up with no status.
That's why people these days fall for fake news and propaganda.
Who is auditing these numbers.
Since when should you trust these numbers.
The best way to deny any elite benefits, lie. The best way to convince customers you're not lying, fluff something to support your lie. (the official look a like sign)
Most people who believed Tim already proved my point.
Post Covid, most US lounges are disappointing...
Should we not also be mentioning that this is a hotel/destination/location highly likely to be frequented by US visitors? Which in turn impacts the statistics? Look at other hotels in destinations where there are fewer US visitors and you’ll find a different story.
Pls read my comment re pricing- it doesn't matter where these people are from, they look like a self-selecting group that only patronises the hotel because of its loyalty programme affiliation.
Going forward my philosophy for all status is to make zero effort or sacrifice for it. I will get cards for SUBs only, and if it has status too then so be it. When I stay, I will expect only what is explicitly promised, free breakfast, late checkout, etc, and no more. Anything at hotel discretion I will assume won't happen. No expectations means no disappointment. Mattress running, MSing for elite nights, choosing hotels based...
Going forward my philosophy for all status is to make zero effort or sacrifice for it. I will get cards for SUBs only, and if it has status too then so be it. When I stay, I will expect only what is explicitly promised, free breakfast, late checkout, etc, and no more. Anything at hotel discretion I will assume won't happen. No expectations means no disappointment. Mattress running, MSing for elite nights, choosing hotels based only on affiliation...no more. This is how they want to play it so ok.
Also, your percentages assume the hotel was full. If it wasn't, the percentages are even more egregious.
It makes perfect sense that members with high status would be overrepresented in any given hotel. They are the members who spend the most nights in hotel rooms.
With the possible exception of Globalist, all hotel status is mostly worthless. Much better benefits with Amex FHR/Hotel Collection, Chase Edit, etc. Or book through Ford / Virtuoso / etc. Or, my favorite, book through AA Hotels for great mileage/LP offers. Enjoy free agency, folks.
My GHA status has been amazing over the years, and even the very pedestrian ALL Gold almost always results in an upgrade
Moreover, I view the involvement of intermediaries such as Virtuoso as an avoidable risk. The 2-3 times I've had serious complaints about a stay, an email to hotel management was sufficient for them to investigate and they were more or less able to resolve the issues.
Well for the first time in several years, Bonvoy is no longer doing the 2x elite qualifying nights promo this spring. Maybe that will do something with elite ranks next year?
All the more reason I've considered leaving Bonvoy.
I don't see why you'd be surprised by the concentration of elites in that specific hotel.
On a random Saturday in May, the Sheraton charges 6687 TWD for its most basic room @32 sq. metres. The nearby five-star Monarch Plaza charges less than 5.5k for the most expensive room, an executive suite @46 sq.m. It's unlikely that anyone would choose the Sheraton in those circumstances unless it's for a Bonvoy-related reason: earning points on employer...
I don't see why you'd be surprised by the concentration of elites in that specific hotel.
On a random Saturday in May, the Sheraton charges 6687 TWD for its most basic room @32 sq. metres. The nearby five-star Monarch Plaza charges less than 5.5k for the most expensive room, an executive suite @46 sq.m. It's unlikely that anyone would choose the Sheraton in those circumstances unless it's for a Bonvoy-related reason: earning points on employer spending, needing to top up nights for elite qualification, a misguided hope of getting an upgrade to a theoretically super expensive room etc.
Same reason people wait in those ridiculously long lines to get into a lounge. They feel special having access. It's just another way to pry more $$ from people for some imagined "elite" benefits.